Pesto Chicken Lasagna OR Burrito

I know this isn't the most appetizing picture, I forgot to take a picture of it when I first cooked it, but believe me, this is a delicious meal. It's not your typical lasagna, obviously, but it still has a great taste. If you want to see a more appetizing picture you can find the pictures and recipes from I Want Crazy. Like I said, this picture is of leftovers from when I originally cooked it, which tells you it taste just as good reheated. Everything about this recipe is great. It has so much cheese, its awesome. I'm also a sucker for anything pesto. So, you put cheese and pesto in a recipe together and I am on board. I'm glad I hopped on board because I will be making this recipe many many more times. I'm not going to lie, lasagna is difficult to make. I failed miserably the first two times I made this. I will eventually perfect this recipe, but even a sloppy lasagna is still delicious.

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Side note, do not use oven ready noodles, I sadly made that mistake the first time. Luckily my roomie and I had tortillas, so we used all the stuff in between the noodles and made the best burritos you'll ever have. So, if you're in the mood for a burrito rather than lasagna make the recipe as follows, but don't layer it on noodles. Either meal is a great one.

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Give this recipe a try, you will not regret it- maybe during the processes of putting it all together, I know I started to regret it- but when I ate it, oh man I was so happy. I certainly did not regret anything. Make it. Eat it. Love it. 

Ingredients

2 lbs shredded chicken*

2 cups asiago, shredded 

2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

1 large egg

4 tbsp butter

1 clove minced garlic

4 tbsp flour

2 1/2 cups milk

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup pesto, divided

salt and pepper

lasagna noodles, about 12 noodles**

fresh basil (optional)

Directions

Oven: 350

Bake or cook chicken in large skillet, shred and set aside.

Combined the asiago, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese.

In separate bowl, combine the ricotta and egg.

In a saucepan, melt the butter and add garlic, cook for one minute.

Mix in flour, stirring frequently, about 1 minute.

Slowly whisk in the milk and broth and bring mixture to a boil and continue stirring until sauce has thickened, about 10-15 minutes.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and mix in 1/4 cup of pesto.

Add pinch of salt and pepper to the sauce.

Add about 1/4 cup of the pesto cream to the ground chicken to coat.

Mix 1/4 cup of pesto cream sauce and 1/4 cup of pesto to the ricotta and egg mixture.

Boil water and cook your pasta.

Grease 9x13 pan.

Spread a spoonful of pesto cream sauce on the bottom of the baking dish.

Add your noodle layer (about 3 lasagna noodles). 

Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over the pasta, add 1/3 of chicken, 1/3 of pesto cream and top with 1/4 of the cheese mixture.

Repeat: Pasta, ricotta mixture, ground chicken, pesto cream and cheese (3 layers)

On top of last pasta noodles, cover with cheese.

Bake until golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes

Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes so it will set, chop fresh basil over the top and serve!

ENJOY

TATER RATER

Suggestions: I seriously can not find asiago cheese, so if you're like me and can't find the darn cheese, I would recommend doubling one of the cheeses, either mozzarella or parmesan. The first time I made this, I did not double one of the cheeses and I ran out of cheese. Running out of cheese is never good. 

*This recipe originally called for 2 pounds ground chicken. I've made it both ways and I prefer the shredded chicken over ground chicken.
**If you decide to make a burrito, buy a 8-10 count of large tortillas. Wrap the mixture in tortillas then spread butter or oil on tortilla and grill.